The field of international politics explores the causes and consequences of war and peace, global economic interdependence, the nature of political power and international organizations. IR is multidisciplinary and draws from other fields such as history, geography, law, philosophy and social science. It has several schools of thought, including realism, liberalism and constructivism.
Realism is a straightforward approach that states a nation’s first priority should be to increase its own power as the more powerful countries can easily eclipse the achievements of lesser ones. It also assumes that states have no idea what the others will do and that they will always seek to further their own interests.
Liberalism in IR takes the opposite approach, arguing that governments should seek to promote their values through diplomacy and soft power, such as trade, culture and education, rather than military force. It also believes that the polarization created by the Cold War between the capitalist West and communist East has helped to reshape contemporary global politics by forcing nations into alliances.
Institutionalism in IR is a hybrid of realism and liberalism that views the international system as a set of institutions that provide incentives for states to cooperate with each other. It also assumes that states have a rational self-interest, but instead of seeing the world as inherently hostile and zero-sum, it uses game theory to show how cooperative outcomes can emerge. The term “G2” is sometimes used to refer to this view, but more often it has been a hope that the United States and China might co-operate to manage a bipolar world order.
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